RichMahogany
Straight Flush
championship poker series
Opinions on China Clays (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter Vintage1974
- Start date
championship poker series
Championship Poker Series was a WSOP knockoff china clay chip set that people went crazy over. Some kind of mass hallucination, i guess.
I strongly dislike China Clays - all of them. They stink and need to be cleaned and oiled to look good. They also don't wear well over time and flea bite.
If you want cheap chips buy Matsui, ceramics, or the GPI Elites/Monaco chips.
If you want cheap chips buy Matsui, ceramics, or the GPI Elites/Monaco chips.
Legend5555
Full House
I think you have a different definition of cheap than some people.
CPS, V8s and Royals are the way to go if you wanna do China Clays.....
The Matsui Lighthouse chips, Chipcos and ceramics are pretty comparable to china clays price wise. Majestics are 42 cents each plus shipping. I just think it is crappy value for what you get. You can get casino quality chips in the same price range.
But yeah I agree the GPI Elites/Monacos aren't exactly cheap running about a buck each.
OP
OP
Vintage1974
Pair
That what I keep hearing and I’ll probably go with the royals from what I’m told. I have no reason to believe that otherwise, but I still wanna get the samples before I decide.
Geremie
Full House
I think CPS > Majestics. The latter feels more plastic-y.
Kid_Eastwood
Full House
Some China Clay series don't wear so well and fall apart after a couple of years.
Just search for "china clay durability" in the search of the forum.
Personnally, I'd go with ceramics. @ABC Gifts and Awards has some nice series.
Just search for "china clay durability" in the search of the forum.
Personnally, I'd go with ceramics. @ABC Gifts and Awards has some nice series.
hollowcd
Sitting Out
Just ordered 1000 Majestics, will update when I receive them!
I have been seeing a seller on eBay selling 100 at a time first time I seen red 5’s now he has a set of green. I messaged them and said I want a whole set and the seller replied that he doesn’t have them, someone else brings them to sell. I wouldn’t know where to get 1’s and 100’s if he doesn’t put them out to bid!
Papasatyr
Two Pair
Is that what happened to the Palm Imports China Clays?
I have a sample set from their very first run--before they adopted the Pharoah's color & spot scheme--and those (prototypes?!) both sounded and handled almost exactly like a Paulson chip. Fresh out of the envelope I remember thinking the chips were nothing short of miraculous for 1/3 the price (Paulsons made home chips then, but not custom chips). That said, PI shortly thereafter put a bunch of solids on sale because of quality issues with cracked chips and such.
Did the PI China Clay's just not stand up to the test of time? Did they eventually crumble to dust? What happened there?
ArmandoStacks
High Hand
I'm sure you've seen a lot of descriptions regarding the Dunes, so I won't go into that. What I will say is that there's no other chip in circulation that Carrie's such an infamous Vegas story like the Dunes. Its beyond a chip; it's a story of a long gone era.
Rhodeman77
Straight Flush
I don’t know about PI specifically, I can only speak to the early Dunes and Pharaoh’s. I played in games that used both and they crumbled every game. There would be flakes all over the table every game.
If the formula has changed and they are better now I can’t say. Some people say they are much better. But I would prefer to see how they do in a few years.
ekricket
Royal Flush
shipping may have had something to do with it. Just put them in a box with no packing at all - none. Then let the postal machinery do it’s job.
It cracks me up too to hear the “expert” opinions, especially when they are prefaced with “I’ve never had any, but I heard .......,” or “ I bought some 12 years ago, and even though they have made great improvements since then mine fell apart so they all must fall apart from now till the end of time.......”
read between the noise and listen to actual owners, not parrots repeating concerns from 10 years ago.
I own sets of CPS and Dunes, and have owned Pharaohs, Desert Palms, and several other CC clays. My sets are typically between 500 and 2000 chips, so I’ve seen a few. No problems with chips made in the last three years.
Poker Zombie
Royal Flush
I have Paulsons, Bud Jones, RT Plastics, CPCs, and various China Clay. I also have ceramic and custom ABS.
The ABS gets little to no play anymore. They're just not that good.
Ceramics get slightly more play. I like them but dont love them. I'm tempted by the Dia De Los Muertos, but ceramic is my least favorite chip, and it's not even close.
After those two, I get the other sets in play as often as possible, with CPC and China Clay in heavy rotation. Zero flea bites. None. I dont know WTF people are doing to damage their (post-Pharaoh) China Clays, but we dont launch our raises out of a cannon here, and none have been damaged.
No, they aren't Paulsons. They're the Swisher Sweet of chips. If you are on a budget, they are the only way to go.
The ABS gets little to no play anymore. They're just not that good.
Ceramics get slightly more play. I like them but dont love them. I'm tempted by the Dia De Los Muertos, but ceramic is my least favorite chip, and it's not even close.
After those two, I get the other sets in play as often as possible, with CPC and China Clay in heavy rotation. Zero flea bites. None. I dont know WTF people are doing to damage their (post-Pharaoh) China Clays, but we dont launch our raises out of a cannon here, and none have been damaged.
No, they aren't Paulsons. They're the Swisher Sweet of chips. If you are on a budget, they are the only way to go.
cpc's?
Classic Poker Chips, currently the only place to buy custom clay chips.
baldwinning
Two Pair
I recently received a dunes CC sample set, and majestic sample set from Apache. I thought i was so set on getting a small cash set from Apache. But i decided on getting a sample set before just to make sure i was going to want them definitely. When i got the set i started playing around with them and wasn’t to impressed, they just didn’t cure the itch and blow me out of the water so i decided to not purchase a full set. I guess it really depends on the person for CCs bc the reviews are some people love them and some could careless for them. So if you are on the wall about it, definitely get yourself a sample set before making the big purchase. As i saw from many other forum members post if you are not sure, BUY A SAMPLE!!
@ABC Gifts and Awards can make custom denominations for the Desert Sands set. Lots of sets out there with 5c or $5000 chips.
The Coconut Tree chips leave a lot to be desired, regardless of price, They are weak and prone to chipping, and the graphics on different denomination chips are very similar -- they are very hard to tell apart in stacks or pots.
Some of the early PGI chips (greek key mold) had deterioration issues (mostly solids), as did some of the Pharaoh's Club and Dunes chips sold by TheChipRoom, while some of the spirit mold chips (Pyramid Casino, Casino da Vinci, and blanks) also had problems with overly fragile chips. It took several years before some of those issues became evident, and there is no way to tell how cc chips made in the last couple of years will fare after time -- they may hold up better, or they may exhibit similar tendencies..... nobody really knows for sure.
However, all china clay chips ever produced have had quality issues of some type or another (dimensional, structural, color, smell, and/or consistency), and that's a well-documented fact. This should come as no surprise -- they are mass-produced chips that literally cost just pennies to make. It's a disposable chip in every sense of the word -- inexpensive, gets the job done, won't last forever, won't have any significant resale value, and can be cheaply tossed away or replaced if/when it becomes necessary to replace the 'bad' ones.
If those parameters meet your gaming needs better than other chip options, and you actually like the chips (that's pretty important, imo), then china clays might be the right chip for you. Get samples, and understand what you're getting (and what you're not getting) before you spend a bundle of money (whatever that might mean to you personally).
I have CC CPS, and Pharaohs and have been using them once a week for around two years. I have also owned majestic's but sold them because I didn't the dark labels. I do however, like the CC's and of the three sets, feel the Pharaoh's feel the best and are the most durable.
I can not, put 2 to 10K worth of Paulson's on a table for my players to use. They wouldn't give a rats ass anyway and I do get compliments on my CC's. I have absolutely no issues with the Pharaohs and only a few CPS chip crack because they were stepped on.
I can not, put 2 to 10K worth of Paulson's on a table for my players to use. They wouldn't give a rats ass anyway and I do get compliments on my CC's. I have absolutely no issues with the Pharaohs and only a few CPS chip crack because they were stepped on.
There was a lot there to go crazy over:
- a new custom multi-purpose mold design
- well-designed WSOP-tribute labels
- both cash and tournament label designs
- blank chips and individual labels available
- rock-bottom pricing -- 25c/chip
I would like to see some cash sets up for sale! I may be interested!
Legend5555
Full House
Me too.
Poker Zombie
Royal Flush
They were excellent chips, and crazy cheap, but there were a few lessons learned (cross hatching is bad, beveling was too much), but those lessons paved the way for the Majestics, then the Royals.
Like BG points out, CCs are an economy chip, but all chips have problems.
Like BG points out, CCs are an economy chip, but all chips have problems.
- Good Paulsons are extremely expensive and/or difficult to obtain
- "Bad" Paulsons are casino worn (small chips, filthy, check-marked) and still pricey
- CPCs are expensive, and may also have flaws between denoms and have natural variance between chips as a result of their hand-made status
- Ceramics can be slippery and when they wear, look terrible
- Bud Jones are plastic, which is a bummer to some
- China Clay has a "new car smell", and errors do occasionally occur due to their "low-bid" style craftsmanship.
HebrewChuckNorris
Two Pair
I have a set of the original PI CC's. The spotted versions that look basically the same as progens. They haven't seen a ton of use, but I have 0 chipped or broken chips, and they actually feel awesome. Might be time to get them into action.
I also have a set of original Pharaoh CCs. I have at least 10 full on broken chips, and many more with chips. Totally different in quality to the PI "great wall" chips.
DarkestHorse
Sitting Out
The thing I don’t think people know up front with China clay is that they will have a chemical smell. Some people don’t mind it, some will hate it. It will fade over time, but likely always be there.
In my opinion used or cheaper ceramics are significantly nicer than CC, but like others have said, you need to get samples to know what you like.
In my opinion used or cheaper ceramics are significantly nicer than CC, but like others have said, you need to get samples to know what you like.
BirdCage
Flush
Live pot picture from this weekend. I believe I'm the third owner of this Dunes CC v.2 set. No wear, no smell, the group loves it and I ended the night up. All good.
We should all be happy that there are great entry level choices for nice chip sets - from CCs to ceramics to used Paulsons (and others).
Note: I didn't take down this $60+ pot, but did nab others.
We should all be happy that there are great entry level choices for nice chip sets - from CCs to ceramics to used Paulsons (and others).
Note: I didn't take down this $60+ pot, but did nab others.
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